5 Facts About Cystic Fibrosis and Reproduction

3. Male CF Patients Are Usually Infertile

Between 97 and 98 percent of all male CF patients are infertile due to a blockage or total absence of the sperm canal. This defect is called congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD). The vas deferens acts is a long tube that acts as a sperm canal where sperm is ejaculated into semen during ejaculation. The absence of sperm in the semen makes its impossible to reach and fertilize an egg, and this absence may make the semen thinner.

But there is a difference between being infertile and sterile. Even though the vas deferens is blocked or nonexistent, the sperm is there, and 90 percent of CF patients produce sperm normally. This means that male CF patients can still have biological children through assisted reproductive technology (ART).

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One comment

I’ve never heard the term sperm canal used before. The vas deferens, which carries sperm from the testicles through the sexual anatomy, is usually absent at birth for men with CF. The seminal vesicles may also be smaller or absent.

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